Ukraine’s energy facilities were targeted by a nighttime Russian missile and drone attack that damaged thermal and hydroelectric power plants, Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo said, as cited by Reuters and Ukrinform.
The large-scale attacks, the largest of which took place last Friday, have already caused extensive damage to Ukrainian electricity generation and transmission facilities, forcing Kiev to halt electricity exports and rely on imports.
“At night, the Russians again struck energy facilities in a massive and combined attack,” Ukrenergo said in Telegram. “Thermal and hydroelectric plants in the central and western regions were damaged,” according to the same source.
Ukrenergo noted that emergency shutdowns were implemented in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region of the country. This morning, Ukrainian television reported that explosions were heard in Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytskyi regions and in the city of Dnipro, and Russian cruise missiles were spotted in Ukrainian airspace.
Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK also reported on Telegram that Russia had attacked three thermal power plants, causing serious damage to them.
“After the end of the attack, the power workers immediately began to repair the damage,” the company added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that the Kanev and Dnipro hydroelectric power plants (both part of the cascade hydroelectric power plants on the Dnieper River – note ed.) were the target of last night’s Russian airstrikes in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
According to Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform, Zelensky held a meeting with the Commander-in-Chief’s Staff to discuss strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and the supply of weapons and ammunition, including air defense systems.
“The terrorist state wants to repeat the environmental disaster in the Kherson region. But now not only Ukraine, but also Moldova is under threat. The water does not stop at the border posts, and the Russian war will not stop if we do not stop it together and in time in Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a statement published on the Telegram communication application. According to the Ukrainian leader, “the challenges are really serious.”
According to data from “Ukrenergo”, quoted by AFP, today in three regions of Ukraine (Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kirovohrad), there was an emergency shutdown of the electricity supply after the Russian strikes.
The Ukrainian Air Defense destroyed 58 drones and 26 missiles
Ukraine’s air defense destroyed last night 84 out of a total of 99 air attack vehicles with which Russia carried out a massive attack, Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk announced in the Telegram application, as quoted by Ukrinform.
Among the air targets hit, 58 were Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 attack drones – out of a total of 60 unmanned aerial vehicles sent by the Russian forces from the Kursk region and the Primorsky-Akhtar region, and 26 missiles out of 39 launched. The Russian Air Force is attacked with drones and missiles from ten regions in Russia.
The missiles hit 17 X-101/X-555 cruise missiles out of a total of 21, launched by 11 Tu-95MS strategic bombers that took off from the Russian city of Engels, in the Saratov region; 5 Kh-59 guided missiles out of a total of 9, fired by nine Su-34 aircraft that took off from the Belgorod region; as well as all 4 Iskander-K cruise missiles launched from the Kursk region.
Russia also attacked with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles (launched by three MiG-31K fighter jets that took off from the Ryazan region) and three Kinzhal ballistic missiles (of the X-47M2 type, launched by the annexed by Moscow in 2014. Crimean Peninsula).
The head of the regional military administration of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Sergiy Lisak, reported that five people were injured in Russian attacks in his region. Among them is a five-year-old girl.
Bombings in the western part of Ukraine have caused the Polish Air Force to put its planes on alert, the operational command of the Polish army announced on social networks, as quoted by AP. The agency recalls that last week Warsaw asked Moscow for an explanation as to why a Russian missile entered Polish airspace.
On the other hand, the Romanian authorities announced today that parts of a drone were found on the territory of the country late last night near the border with Ukraine.
Ukraine needs fewer troops than previously thought
Ukraine’s army will need to mobilize fewer men than initially expected to counter Russia’s two-year-old invasion, a senior Kiev general said, Reuters quoted.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in December that the army had offered to mobilize up to 500,000 more Ukrainians into the armed forces after Russia stepped up attacks along the 1,000km front line.
Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky, who was appointed to the post last month, said in an interview with Ukrainian media published today that after a review of resources that number had been “significantly reduced”. He did not specify a new number.
“We expect that we will have enough capable people to defend our homeland,” Sirsky told Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform. “I’m not only talking about the mobilized, but also about the volunteers,” he added.
Ukraine’s mobilization efforts have been hampered by waning enthusiasm and by reports of corruption and abuses in the conscription services.
A bill that would allow armed forces officials to recruit more soldiers is currently being considered by parliament.
Sirsky added that the vetting of non-combat units had allowed military planners to send “thousands” of personnel to the front and that combat support posts were “equally important” in Kiev’s defense efforts.
“The war we are forced to wage against the Russian invaders is a war of attrition, a war of logistics,” he said. “Therefore, the importance of the effectiveness of the rear units cannot be underestimated,” the commander-in-chief added.
The former ground forces chief also said “powerful” defensive lines “are being prepared in almost all threatened areas” as Russia continues its attacks.
The eastern town of Avdeevka fell to Moscow forces in mid-February after months of attacks in which Ukrainian defenses were outgunned and outnumbered.
In an interview with Ukrinform, Sirski said his forces “definitely” would have held their ground if Kiev had received more ammunition and air defense capabilities from its Western partners.
An American institute confirmed Russian territorial acquisitions in Ukraine
Experts from the American Institute for the Study of War (IIW) have confirmed that Russia has achieved territorial gains in its war against Ukraine, DPA reported.
The Russian armed forces have placed under their control 505 sq. km. since the start of its offensive last October, according to the latest analysis of the IIV published today.
According to IIV, Ukraine still does not allow Russia to achieve major tactical breakthroughs on the front line. However, IIV warns that “Russia’s opportunities to take advantage of Ukrainian vulnerabilities will expand” as “Ukraine continues to try to cope with manpower shortages”.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that a new major Russian offensive was possible at the beginning of the summer. IIV believes that Russia will maintain the current pace of its advance despite the bad weather conditions.
On the other hand, Ukraine will be forced to concentrate its limited resources in important points on the front. This increases the risk that the Russian army will break through the defensive line in its weaker sectors. In the future, this can lead to great success for her.
Experts from IIV emphasize the importance of Western aid in stopping the Russian advance. They also point out that Ukrainian air defenses are weakening.
Zelensky has called several times for Western allies to send American Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to his country so that Ukraine can better defend its airspace. A further weakening of Ukraine’s air defenses could not only put war-critical bases and logistics inside Ukraine at risk, but also allow Russia to launch additional front-line bomber airstrikes, according to the IIA analysis.
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